South Sudan

Primary and Secondary Healthcare

International Medical Corps works with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and local partners to provide integrated primary healthcare services and strengthen local healthcare systems across four states in South Sudan. We provide primary healthcare across Central Equatoria, Jonglei, Upper Nile and Western Bahr el-Ghazal states. And in displacement camps and host communities in Bulukat, Juba, Malakal, Renk and Wau. International Medical Corps runs a health facility in Malakal PoC that offers higher-level care, including surgery. Last year, we provided 735,981 outpatient consultations. To reach remote communities or populations isolated by extreme weather disasters, we implement mobile healthcare services as part of our ongoing programs and in response to emergencies. In collaboration with the MoH, we are a frontline responder to public health emergencies, including COVID-19 and cholera outbreaks.

Our activities include:

• providing outpatient consultations for common communicable and noncommunicable diseases;
• providing integrated services in displacement settlements and remote areas, including facilities supported by the Ministry of Health (MoH);
• treating complications related to HIV/TB, including clinical management of rape;
• ensuring epidemic preparedness and response through established surveillance systems in supported health facilities;
• training healthcare workers in reproductive health, the WHO’s Mental Health Gap Action Programme (MhGAP), integrated disease surveillance and response, HIV/TB, and infection prevention and control; and
• promoting health education and services through community outreach workers and the Boma Health Initiative.

Maternal and Child Health

South Sudan has one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates—1,223 per 100,000 live births—which is due mostly to infection, hemorrhage and obstructed labor. The health system is rudimentary due to an inadequate number of qualified health workers, poor infrastructure due to armed conflicts, poor access to health facilities, a dysfunctional referral system and negative cultural norms. Because one-quarter of all South Sudanese children die from common—often preventable—childhood illnesses before they reach their fifth birthday, International Medical Corps implements services in primary health clinics that focus on improving the health of women and their children.

International Medical Corps supports health facilities with services that include:

• maternal and child health, including antenatal and postnatal care, immunization, emergency obstetric care and referral support;
• specialized services for high-risk pregnancies and mental health needs;
• disease prevention and treatment, clinical management of rape and integrated case management for HIV/AIDS; and
• capacity building, to reduce the gap in qualified health personnel.

Nutrition

An estimated 4.3 million women and children in South Sudan are at risk of acute malnutrition. International Medical Corps operates 60 treatment centers for internally displaced persons (IDPs), host communities and returnees in Canal Pigi, Fashoda, Malakal, Manyo, Panyijiar and Panyikang counties.

Our activities include:

• treatment and management of wasting;
• prevention of malnutrition through maternal, infant and young-child feeding nutrition (MIYCN) programs;
•  infection prevention and control;
• information management and learning, through support of population-based SMART surveys; and
• coordination and system strengthening, through support of cluster and sub-cluster groups.

We work closely with the MoH and other partners to provide comprehensive treatment, incorporating a community-based model for the management of acute malnutrition, including MIYCN. This combination includes inpatient care for severely malnourished children with complications—to reduce their exposure to other diseases—combined with outpatient care through targeted supplementary feeding programs that decrease their recovery time.

In 2024, we provided 67,703 children under 5 with malnutrition treatment, including 22,493 for severe acute malnutrition and 45,210 for moderate acute malnutrition. We also provided 20,743 PLW with malnutrition treatment across our 60 nutrition sites; 203,195 caregivers with infant and young child feeding counseling; and 241,242 children with vitamin A and deworming tablets across six program sites. We have supported more than 400 mother support groups that implement and advocate for nutrition and dietary behavior change at the community level.

Capacity Strengthening

For every service we provide, International Medical Corps works closely with local and government counterparts. At our primary healthcare clinics, the majority of staff members are local, and receive training, support and guidance from experienced local or expatriate staff. International Medical Corps also provides modern, computer-based data-collection-and-analysis training for staff working on health management information systems. We partner with state-level ministries of health to provide technical support, coaching and mentoring of frontline health workers.

South Sudan faces a critical shortage of healthcare workers, with approximately 560 doctors serving more than 12 million people. Similar deficits exist among nurses, midwives and other paramedical staff, limiting access to essential services. To address this, we strengthen the health system through training programs for health workers. From 2008 to 2022, we comanaged and supported three midwifery schools, which offered certificate programs aligned with International Confederation of Midwives standards. We graduated 631 nurses and midwives from those schools, many of whom now work for International Medical Corps.

Currently, we support the Malakal Health Sciences Institute in Upper Nile state and Wau Health Sciences Institute in Western Bahr el Ghazal state. We also provide on-the-job training for health staff, including electronic training to improve data collection and analysis in Health Management Information Systems. We also partner with national and state-level ministries of health and county health departments to ensure that our work is effective and sustainable.

Violence Against Women and Girls

VAWG is an endemic problem in South Sudan, exacerbated by ongoing conflict and chronic displacement. Our programs are tailored to support and empower women and girls, as they are most affected by abuse and violence, and face risks during and after armed conflict and natural disasters.

We strengthen core services for women and girls in Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile and Western Bahr el Ghazal states, including survivor-centered case management, counseling and psychosocial support to enhance healing and recovery, as well as emergency cash to survivors to facilitate the case management process.

In addition, we run service points in displacement camps and communities where women and girls can socialize, make handicrafts and receive psychosocial support to help them recover from traumatic experiences. We provide VAWG prevention and response training to local leaders. We establish women’s management committees in each location where we maintain service points to promote engagement and sustainability.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

In 2024, an estimated 5 million people in South Sudan were adversely affected by poor hygiene practices and inadequate access to clean water and sanitation facilities. Only 36% of households have access to nearby, safe water sources, and less than 40% of the population has access to safe, functioning toilets. International Medical Corps operates facilities for IDPs, host communities and returnees in Canal Pigi, Malakal and Renk, where we implement WASH programming.

Our activities include:

• implementing waste management in targeted health facilities, including handwashing stations, handwashing buckets and soap;
• adhering to infection prevention and control protocols;
• providing hygiene and sanitation messages; and
• constructing and rehabilitating gender-segregated latrines.

Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

Psychological problems, such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse and epilepsy (which is a neurological condition, but sometimes stigmatized in the same way as mental health conditions), are growing issues in South Sudan. Mental health services remain practically non-existent, due to a limited number of mental health professionals, insufficient supply of psychotropic medication and the absence of legislation, leading to many mental health patients becoming incarcerated despite not committing a crime.

As a key provider of MHPSS services in South Sudan, International Medical Corps delivers evidence-based pharmacological and psychosocial support services to clients with mental, neurological and substance-use conditions in Jonglei and Upper Nile states. We also co-chair the national MHPSS Technical Working Group and contribute to national policy development. Our teams provide integrated MHPSS in all the project sites with mental health services, including awareness-raising, psychoeducation, screening, case management and referrals.

Partnerships

International Medical Corps works in close collaboration with relevant national and international NGOs, community groups, donor agencies and host-country governments, cultivating strong relationships with them to maximize the impact of our programs. We also help strengthen local partner organizations to ensure the sustainability of interventions. We have been a lead or co-lead agency in various technical working groups in the country and have proven our ability to work strategically and in collaboration with diverse stakeholders.